A devoted (obsessed) 18 year old girl's views on all-things Yankees, and other random thoughts

Results tagged ‘ Damaso Marte ’

I was going to post earlier, but I had a more important obligation. Don’t gasp yet – I know what you are thinking: “What could be more important than blogging about a Yankee win?” The answer?

Sending Swish.

Nick Swisher was depending on us to vote for him for the All-Star Game. Since voting ended today at 4, I decided to devote my day to him. So I did. And I got a headache from staring at the screen so long. But you know what? I just had to suck it up. Because a little discomfort for me is worth a smile from Swish. Nick, I hope you won sweetie ♥

Staying up late was worth it for this series. Anytime the Yankees win, no matter what time I go to bed, I’m not cranky. Thank you Yankees for my good mood! CC Sabathia and A-Rod were responsible for our 6-1 win in game 2. Last night’s finale had a similar recipe. The Yanks won it 6-2.

Pitching Analysis: It was A.J. Burnett’s turn last night, and I was hoping that his previous start was not a fluke. It was his first good one in over a month. Last night, A.J. comforted me, saying, “Don’t worry, Virginia. I’ll be good for you.” And he did. He’s heating up again.

Thatta boy, A.J. ;)

In 7 innings, A.J. allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits. His ERA is back to respectibility at 4.75, and his record is even at 7. I think it is safe to say that the A.J. Burnett we all love – the good one with the mean…intimidating face – is back🙂

The bullpen did well last night. Marte pitched a scoreless 8th, and Joba threw a scoreless 9th. If only he can be automatic like Mo every day….

Defensive Anaysis: There was good defense, bad defense, and something that I don’t think is worthy of being called defense last night. We’ll call it ugly. Yankee Defense: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. GOD I HATE THAT MOVIE.

Which one is “The Ugly?” The are all grotesque.

Anyway: The good defense came in the first inning, on the first play of the game. Coco Crisp hit a liner to centerfield, and Brett Gardner snared it, doing a dive/slide, for the first out. Good Job, Brett!

The bad was A.J. Burnett. He attempted a pickoff, and threw the ball wildly. He is just the WORST at holding on runners. He had the right idea, but failed to execute the play.

The ugly – Oh, the ugly! I can’t believe I’m using the words “Alex Rodriguez” and “ugly” in the same sentence! Last night, A-Rod made a fool of himself. In the 7th, he chased down a foul pop-up, and had to run a long way to get there. I think he ran a little too much. Alex OVERRAN the ball, tried to recover, but it was too late: before he knew it, Alex was on the ground, with the ball trickling away. It was the most epic fail I have seen since another popup fail…

Priceless…

Of course, Jeter and the rest of the guys really let him have it. But A-Rod was a good sport about it. After all, it was hilarious.

Offensive Analysis: The Yankees had a lot of chances early to get to Gio Gonzalez, but they failed to take advanage ot them. Finally, in the 4th, they broke through. My little cutie Ramiro Pena, AKA Jamal, hit an RBI single to tie the game at 1.

Dev Patel and Ramiro Pena! TWINS!

Then Derek Jeter hit an RBi single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead! Later that same inning, Mark Teixeira delivered – big fly style. He hit a 3-run homer to break the game open! 5-1 Yankees! He is really starting to heat up.

MAAAAARK I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Nick Swisher really campaigned well for himself last night. He had a single, a double, a walk, and in the 6th, gave another reason why he’s All-Star worthy: He hit an opposite field solo home run! 6-1 YANKEES! Swish, you are too cute😉

You have my votes!

The heroes for this comforting victory are A.J, Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher, for giving it their all and getting some serious results. In a perfect world, all three of you would be All-Stars. For now, let us pray for Swisher.

The Yankees have won 5 games in a row. They have a 2 game lead in the AL East, and they have the best record in baseball at 53-31. Sure, my Yankees are good, but doesn’t it seem like they haven’t really clicked yet?

I’ve seen a lot of bizarre things on the baseball diamond before, but I think last night is worthy of the title of one of the most bizarre baseball games ever. I think the players weren’t all their last night – on both sides. Last night’s game was not played well, and was incredibly sloppy. I was beginning to think I was seeing things, but then I remembered that I wasn’t the one in the desert. Nope, it wasn’t a mirage. It wasn’t a gorgeous win, but I’ll take it. The Yankees won 6-5, and won the series.

Pitching Analysis: After watching and pitying Dontrelle Willis, who just could not throw a stike, it was Javy Vazquez’s turn. I panicked, because he walked the leadoff man Kelly Johnson. I was beginning to worry, “Oh no! It’s contagious! Javy has the virus! He can’t throw strikes!” It was a pretty messy inning, but Javier did catch a break when the defense threw out a runner trying to score. Later on, with the bases loaded, he surrendered a 2-run single to Adam Laroche. That pest. He had 5 RBI last night.

Javier really struggled last night. He went just 5 innings, and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits. He really didn’t have good stuff on the mound. But to his credit, he kept the Yankees in the game, and didn’t unravel to the point of no return. He prevented the opposition from having the Big inning. And for that, Javy deserves a pat on the back.

Look at you…so cute😉

The bullpen did a lot of work last night, and most of it was done well. Damaso Marte allowed a run in te 6th, but it’s not like they hit him. He kind of screwed himself up. Chris Young walked, moved to second on a balk, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a groundout. That gave the D-Backs a 5-4 lead.

The rest of the ‘pen was fabulous: Joba, Robertson, and Mo. Oh, Mo! Mo, Mo, Mo…what else can we say about Mo? He’s amazing.

Mariano knew what he was in for last night: 2 innings to pitch, and 1 shot at the plate. He tossed a 1-2-3 9th, and in the 10th, he got a chance to hit. That was pretty funny. He put a good swing on the ball, but grounded out. The best part was that the whole team was at leaning on the dugout railing, laughing and just having fun with it. I don’t know how Mo focused at the plate with the whole team joking about him like that.

LOL!

More importantly, I don’t know how Mo focused in the 10th! It was a miracle…Stephen Drew led off with a single. Then Justin Upton doubled, and Miguel Montero was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out. NONE out. Yikes. But Mo stayed cool – he got Chris Young to pop out to Cervelli, and got the dangerous Adam Laroche to pop out to A-Rod. That left it up to Mark Reynolds: the guy that either strikes out, or goes deep. Like in the rest of the inning, I bravely watched through the tiny opening between my fingers as I covered the rest of my face. Reynolds tried, but there was no way he was going to hit The Great Mariano. With a valiant effort, Reynolds swung at that back door cutter, but came up empty. Strike three! Crisis averted! YANKEES WIN!

Oh, thank you Mariano!

Offensive Analysis: Despite being given 13 walks by D-back pitchers, the offense struggled. They could not take advantage of the Diamondback mistakes. Instead, they made mistakes of their own. The basepaths were not friendly to the Yankees last night. There were three baserunning blunders that I would rather not summarize. It was ugly.

As for the runs, the Yankees got one in the first on a Nick Swisher RBI single. A-Rod drew an RBI walk in the 2nd. But the Yankees failed to really put a rally together. Until the 6th.

In the 6th, my darling Francisco Cervelli led off with a double, and eventually scored on a Brett Gardner RBI groundout. Cutie Colin Curtis came off the bench to pinch hit for Javy Vazquez. Once again, Curtis hit the ball hard, almost knocking over Adam Laroche, for an game tying RBI single! That made it 4-4. The Yanks re-tied the game in the 9th, thanks to an sac fly by A-Rod.

In the 10th, I was beginning to get restless. I began to think about the longball as a quick way to score a run. Curtis Granderson stepped up to the plate. While he was up, I was looking through my notebook to see if the Yanks had a homer that game. It was such a long, stressful game, that I forgot. I didn’t see any “HR!” in my notebook. Right when I realized this, I heard the crack of Grandy’s bat. I looked up, and there it went! HOME RUN, CURTIS GRANDERSON! Why didn’t I think this before? Whatever. The Yankees had a 6-5 lead, thanks to my sweet little Curtis. And that was the final score.

Thank you, Curtis!

A lot of things happened last night that I didn’t believe. One of these was that the Yankees won! They didn’t play particularly well, but hey: they played well enough. A win is a win is a win. I’ll take it – especially since the Yankees gained a game on every team in the AL East! The heroes for this bizarre victory are Curtis Granderson for his clutch HR, and Mariano Rivera, for his miracle on the mound. He truly is amazing.

Pitching Analysis: Phil Hughes toed the rubber today in search of his 9th victory of the season. He was Philthy through the first 5 innings, but he hit a bump in the 6th that he was unable to escape from. Hughes allowed just 1 run in the 1st, on a sac fly by Carlos Lee, but surrendered 4 in the 6th. The big blow was a 2-run homer by former Yankee Kevin Cash. After that, Girardi pulled Hughes for Marte – not willing to take any chances. Aside from that 6th, Hughes was good at limiting the damage. But it was clear that he did not have his best stuff today.

He still is in line for an All-Star spot.

The bullpen did its job today. Damaso Marte got out of the 6th just fine. Chan Ho-in Park pitched a scoreless 7th, Joba threw a scoreless 8th, and the Great Mariano closed it out with a scoreless 9th.

Defensive Analysis: Despite the wet weather, which usually makes things messy on the field, the Yankees played solid defense today, with individuals making sparkling plays. In te 3rd, Ramiro Pena made a gorgeous diving play on a liner to rob Michael Bourn of a potential extra-base hit. Ramiro seems to do something big, even if it is small, in every game he plays. Brett Gardner made a nice leaping play in the 7th on a deep fly ball by Carlos Lee. Glad to hear that his thumb is stable enough for him to play.

Offensive Analysis: It took the Yankees a little while to get on the board, but when they did, they did it loudly. In the 4th, Robbie Cano tied up the game at 1 with a solo home run, his 13th of the season. Then Posada, Gardner, and rookie Chad Huffman (cutie!) walked to load the bases for Ramiro Pena. Ramiro once again delivered, knocking in 2 runs with a single and giving the Yankees their first lead of the day – a lead they held on to.

The Yankees were extremely patient at the plate today. In the 5th, Granderson, Cano, and Swisher walked to load the bases for who: Jorge Posada. Facing the same situation as yesterday, Jorge had the same mindset: get a good pitch, and put a good swing on it. Lucky for him, the results were the same. On a 2-0 count, Posada got a pitch to hit, and launched it into the right field seats – the same spot as yesterday – for his second grand slam in as many days! I knew he was going to hit that. I said it:

“Wouldn’t it be something if Jorge went deep again? Oh my…haha then I guess I can’t be saying how I want Cervelli in his place anymore. OH MY…HOLY JESUS….he DID do it! AW! JORGE!!!! GRAND SLAM!”

Hip hip, JORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the first time a Yankee hit a grand slam in consecutive days since Bill Dickey, another catcher great, did it in 1937. But more importantly, it gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead. If yesterday didn’t give Jorge confidence, today definitely did.

The Yanks scored their final 2 runs in te 6th inning on RBI singled by Swisher and Gardner, giving the team a 9-5 lead. And that was how it ended.

Congrats Yankees on sweeping the Astros! The heroes for today’s finale win are Ramiro Pena, for his glove and clutch bat, Brett Gardner, for the same reasons as Ramiro, and Jorge Posada for his astonishing feat of pure beastness at the plate today. Jorge, although it seems sometimes that I don’t like you, it’s not true. I really DO like you. It’s just that I LOVE Francisco Cervelli….you know…..love…as in, like….looooove ♥ I love you too, though. But I don’t have these fantasies about you that involve…..things…

It is yet another series win for the Yankees. This one has been especially entertaining for me, because a certain player who I love so much has seen some extra playing time, and has made the most of it. But I’ll get to that later🙂 The Yankees won game 1 and game 2 by the same score of 4-1, and won game 3 by the score 7-5 to complete the sweep.

Game 1

Game 1 was a close game from start to finish, but for some reason it never felt that way. Even when the Yankees were behind, it didn’t feel like they were losing. I just knew they were going to come back, and they did. CC Sabathia allowed a solo home run to Matt Wieters in the 2nd, but other that that he was great. By limiting the amount of damage, CC enabled the potent Yankee offense to come back. And they did.

There he is: C “Cy” in action ♥

In the 4th, A-Rod led off with a single, and eventually came around to score on a Swisher single to tie the game at 1. Brettiboo Gardner followed with a single. Then Randy Winn came up. My Mom was just saying how the Yankees really needed to bring up another outfielder, because Randy Winn can’t hit. I guess Randy heard this. He connected for a monster 3-run home run, and gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead! How cute! Thanks to Randy’s big fly, the Yankees won the game.

How cute is this? Randy Winn? That’s so random!

Game 2

This is the game that I liked the best. OMG it was like I died and had gone to Cervelli Heaven…♥♥♥ It was amazing…I was extremely jealous that my teachers all went to see this game. The history teachers all went together. That’s kind of cute. Those three are my favorite teachers at the school. I told them to say hi to Cervelli for me, but I don’t think they did….

Look at that arm….ow-ow!…I’m lovin’ those tattoos😉

The combo of A.J. Burnett and Francisco Cervelli proved to be very dominant once again for the Yankees. A.J. pitched 7 1/3 innings of solid baseball. He only allowed 1 run, but it was unearned. The 3rd inning was just down-right awesome. Burnett got into a jam: With a run already in due to a throwing error, the Orioles looked to add to that with runners on 2nd and 3rd and none out. I was afraid A.J. was going to unravel. But Cervelli calmed him down, and together, those fears were washed away. Burnett struckout Jones for out #1. Then, Nick Markakis struckout for out #2. It was then Matt Wieters’ turn. Guess what happened to him? Wieters struckout for out #3. Inning over. Crisis averted. Cervelli fist-pumped out of excitement, and the momentum was now in the Yankees’ favor.

Mmmm….Cervelli-welli-jelli-belli…God only knows how much I love you ♥♥♥

In the bottom half of the 3rd, Cervelli led off. I guess he was still so pumped up from A.J.’s performance in the top of the inning. He hit a ball in to the outfield, that fell out of reach of the diving Oriole. He saw the ball was heading all the way to the wall. So as he rounded 2nd, he knocked off that silly helmet and hustled all the way to 3rd for a LEADOFF TRIPLE!!! It was the first triple of his career. He was so pumped up, and so was I. He then scored on a Ramiro Pena groundout to tie the game at 1.

In the 4th, Cervelli decided to show off his glove. A foul ball was hit by the Yankee dugout, and Cervelli tracked it down. But the ball was going to land in the dugout. Cervelli made a bold, brave move, and jumped headfirst into the Yankee dugout to catch the ball! He knew his teammates would save him. It was an amazing play, and it sent me into my continuous “Cervelli is cute” cheers that I have become so accustomed to in the last few days. It was funny how all the teammates grabbed hold of Cervelli to prevent him from falling in the dugout. I was a little jealous of them there….I wouldn’t mind touching Cervelli down there by the tush….

In the 5th, Gardner led off with a walk, Cervelli singled, and Ramiro Pena bunted. The throw went crazy, and everyone was safe! A run scored on the play, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Tex walked, and with the bases loaded Alex Rodriguez had a great at-bat. After fouling off about 100 pitches, 2 of which almost took out Cervelli at 3rd, Alex walked to force in a run. 3-1 Yanks! The 4th and final Yankee run came in the 8th inning on a sac fly by Ramiro Pena. Joba held on to close out his 2nd consecutive game, and the Yankees won it!

Game 3

I didn’t see much of this game because it came on a 1, and I got home at 3:30. But from what I heard it was a great game. the Yankees won it 7-5. Andy Pettitte started and did a pretty nice job, going 5 innings and allowing just 1 run. But he exited the game early, which may be a reason for concern. His elbow is a little stiff, but hopefully everything is okay. I guess it’s good he came out – better safe than sorry. The Yankee bullpen did a lot of work today. Sergio Mitre, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Boone Logan, and Alfredo Aceves all pitched. Mitre and Robertson allowed a few runs, but whatever. The Yankees had a big lead, I don’t blame the guys for throwing strikes.

I hope your arm feels better, Andy.

On the offensive side, the Yanks scored 7 runs on 10 hits – hits from some guys we wouldn’t expect. Like Nick Johnson! He hit a solo homer in the 1st inning today. Aw. He may finally be getting out of that season-long slump! The only bad thing about this is….I think he’s going to keep that icky perv mustache. Usually, players don’t like to change anything about them when they are doing well. Oh well….as long as he hits, I’ll take it. Nick Swisher also had a HR today; congratulations Swishalicious. You are have had quite the hot series😉 Cervelli also had another hit today, what a surprise lol. He’s just too good to be true…

Even with the moustache, I still think he’s cute. It must be the pinstripes😉

This series has been awesome. I’ve been pretty stressed out lately and these guys have really helped me get through it. The heroes for the series sweep are the starting pitchers: CC, A.J., and Andy, for their dominance, Nick Swisher, for beasting throughout the entire homestand, and…..and…..FRANCISCO CERVELLI ♥♥♥ for doing everything and anything the team needed. God bless that adorable man. I want him soooo badly…he is my favorite Yankee, and that really is saying a lot.

I’m glad the Yankees are off tomorrow, only because I will be able to get to bed early. Friday is my AP US history exam, and I am freaking out a bit. But you know what? It’s okay. It really is okay. I already got college credit for this class, so the AP exam is just bonus. And I think I will be alright anyway…I’ve been studying my tail off this past week. Hopefully it pays off🙂

Omg today was stressful. I took my SAT, but that wasn’t the stressful part, believe it or not! I was nervous when I was pacing the halls waiting for the test to start, but other than that I was calm. It was a long, boring exam, but it was easy. After 5 hours of spilling my brain for the test, I was relieved it was over. I arrived home just in time for the start of the game. The game…Oh, what a game! It was not a fun one for me….it was agonizing…pitiful…I just feel awful. My Yankees lost 7-6 in what was a heartbreaking game for me.

Pitching Analysis: I was overjoyed that I got home in time to Javier from the beginning. I was happy, cheerful, and optimistic after my test. I felt I could conquer anything, and hoped Javy had that same bravado (good SAT word right there lolz). Unfortunately, this was not the case. Javier was, well…let me just say it outright – pretending I don’t realize it isn’t going to solve anything: Javier was dreadful once again today. He couldn’t even get an out in the 4th inning. In 3+ innings, Javy surrendered 5 runs, 3 homers, on 7 hits and 4 walks. He just looked miserable out there. He is so stressed out; it pains me to see him that way.

I would hide my face too if I were you, babe….OH! Did I just say that? I’M SO SORRY JAVY!!! But it’s true….you poor pitiful baby….

Ozzie Guillen is a greasy rotten ****. I’m not sure if he did it, but even if he didn’t I still feel that way about him. In the 3rd inning, the umpires confronted Javier and told him he had to change his glove because it is “illegal.” ILLEGAL? Why, then, has he been using it for the last 4 years? I think Ozzie pointed that out to the umps to freak out Javy even more. He had to go down into the clubhouse and get a brand new glove. I mean, how rotten is that? The poor man is so uncomfortable already, and you have to add to that? For no reason? What really annoys me is that JJ Putz had the same glove only the colors were reversed, and no one said a thing. I think Girardi should have done something about it.

I know that’s not why Javy was bad. But still….it’s just wasn’t right. Oh, Javier…you poor poor baby. I’m honestly very upset. I’m not mad at you, I just want you to succeed so much. The only reason I wasn’t hysterically crying over Melky’s departure for too long was because of you. I hate to admit it, but I am losing faith. I wonder now if it was worth it to get rid of Melky….

Joe Girardi got on my nerves today in the 7th. David Robertson has been so stinky lately. Why put him in in a 6-5 tight ballgame? Thanks to that, the Yankees lost. After Robertson screwed up the inning and put 2 guys on base, Girardi called on Marte to get out the lefty Pierzynski. Instead, Marte served up a 2-run double, which gave the ChiSox a 7-6 lead, and took all hope of a Yankee victory away.

Offensive Analysis: The Yankee offense really wasn’t bad today. The lack of pitching led to loss today. I’m not really in the mood to go through the whole thing because they LOST…OH! I get that sick feeling when I think about Swish’s 2-run HR in the 6th…that gave the Yanks a 6-5 lead. I was almost certain they would win it after that…but no….like I don’t have enough stress on me already…they blew it.

I almost died in the 6th. Prior to Swish’s home run, one of my truest loves….he….he….OH! WHY? WHHHYYYYY???? God, why did you do this to Curtis? To CURTIS?!?! He’s just…oh, he’s just too find…too GRAND….witnessing him limp like that felt like having a stake jammed through my heart….Just think: he was just starting to break out of his slump….he was just rounding the bases….and then he started hobbling…pitifully, painfully to 3rd base. It’s his groin. A grade 2 strain to his left groin is going to sideline him to the DL for at least 15 days…can you imagine what this did to me? I wish I had magical healing powers…oh Curtis! How I wish I could just make it better baby…you poor thing….Seriously, no joke, I almost cried when I heard you were going to the hospital for an MRI…I expected something bad….

…..don’t leave me…..:'(

It has been quite an agonizing day. Not exactly how I hoped to start the new month. Poor Javier….poor Curtis….today was just not the best day for my Yankees. What if Javy continues to struggle? And then they like….-gulp-…get rid of him….that’s going to break my already half-broken heart. And…oh….what if GrandyMan’s groin is more serious than we know? What if he’s away for more than 2 weeks? I’m going to suffer from Granderson withdrawl….This is too agonizing…can it get worse? Will it?

Maybe the stress of junior year is finally catching up to me….maybe I am just overtired… It can’t get worse. I mean it can, but it won’t. It definitely won’t. It will be okay. It has to, because these are the Yankees. They make things interesting, but when it’s all over, it will be okay. It’s a long season…there will be ups and downs. But at the end, I think I know where this team will be.

At #28.

Yeah. It’s painful right now, but it will be alright. And there WERE some positives today…like Mitre (♥). That guy was dealing today. And Swisher’s Yankee Stadium funk may finally be over. And Tex looked good today. And Jorge is alive!

The past week has been a great one for the Yankees. For me it’s been busy, but just as great. The Home Opener was awesome, especially because I won the cookies! Thank you, Yankees, for winning to the score I predicted: 7-5. They lost Wednesday, but who cares? They bounced back with a win on Thursday 6-2. Then the Rangers came into town. My Yankees won last night in a short 6-inning rainy game by the score of 5-1, and just won today 7-3, locking up their 4th series win in 4 series. I’m so proud of these guys!

The funny thing about all this is, throughout the week I have only seen 1, I repeat 1 Yankee game from beginning to end. Yeah. I don’t really like that…but what can I do? This is junior year…by far the most stressful year of my life so far. School has been intruding its way into the more important things in my life…sorry Yankees. That 1 game was on Thursday, where I decided not to do any of my work. Today, Saturday, I didn’t have to do any work. But my best friend was home feeling under-the-weather and asked if I could come over. Of course I did. Hopefully she’s feeling better now ♥ By the time I got home, it was 7-0 in the 6th. Whoa. My boys are holding their own without me.

Pitching Analysis: A.J. Burnett was a real beast today. He went 7 innings of 6-hit, shutout ball, recording 7 K’s along the way. I was pleasantly surprised to see him come out, and complete the 7th inning. I was worried, like many others were, about his pitch count. But then I remembered something: A.J. Burnett is a man. A big, tough, sexy-tattooed man. He can handle 111 pitches this early in the season. Oh yeah. He can😉 Another thing that surprised me was that he did all this with Jorge behind the plate. It really pleases me to see them getting along. The only thing I don’t like about that, is that it means Cervelli (♥) won’t be catching him every 5 days…I enjoyed seeing him yesterday though.

Alfredo Aceves allowed a 3-run homer to Nelson Cruz in the 8th, and was pulled for Marte, who did a nice job. Joba Chamberlain closed it out nicely, ending the game with a strikeout. He looks mighty fine himself…

Offensive Analysis: The offense exploded once again! Boy do I love when this happens. they didn’t score at all when I finally got to watch it, but that was okay – they had a huge explosion earlier in the game. Nick Johnson walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, and Tex drove in a run with a cheap little hit in the 2nd.

The 3rd was where the real explosion occurred. Gardner, who had a stereotypical “Gardner” day at the plate, (with 3 pesty little infield singles) drove in Jorge with an infield single. Then he and Granderson, who was on 3rd, tried to pull that old double steal of 2nd and home trick. Gardy broke for the bag, and the throw went wild! GrandyMan (♥) scored, the inning continued. Yay. In the same at-bat, Derek Jeter hit a 2-run home run, making it 6-0. What is up with Jeter lately? He’s on quite the power surge. I hope this keeps up.

Jeet also singled in the 2nd. He just sprays the ball all over the field.

In the 4th, Alex Rodriguez came up, still searching for his first HR of the season. After that at-bat, his wait was over! A-Rod went deep to right, finally filling in that home run column, and more importantly, giving the Yankees a cozy 7-0 lead. Awesome.

Hey good lookin’, whatchya got cookin’? HOME RUN!! Mmm…my favorite😉

Good game today boys! Everything worked so smoothly. The heroes for this well-played win are A.J. Burnett, for his sexy-beastness on the mound, Brettiboo Gardner, for being “annoying” and making me proud with 3 infield hits, and Alex Rodriguez, for getting his 1st of many homers this season🙂

It’s been a fun week to be a Yankee fan. These boys just make me so proud. Already, they are 8-3, and are in first place in the AL East. It seems as if a few guys left, a few new guys came, but the team is continuing right where they left off last season. I know it’s early, but #28 doens’t sound too far-fetched…

I knew I didn’t have to worry. Well, actually, during last night’s game I was worrying quite a bit. Yankees/Red Sox games just do that to me. But last night, by the time it was all over, I felt at peace once again. The positives of Sunday night were present again, ad the negatives turned themselves around. And seeing a certain someone pitch like way back in the days when that certain someone was good, that gave me the utmost sense of relief. My Yankees beat the Red Sox last night 6-4, and picked up their first of many “W’s” of the season.

Offensive Analysis: It was yet another strong offensive night for my boys last night. I was very proud, not only that they scored a lot, but they did so off such a tough opponent in Jon Lester, who surrendered 4 of the Yankees’ 6 runs. It’s comforting to know that no matter who the enemy puts on the hill, my Yankees never back down.

The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd inning, when Cano singled, Jorge walked, and the Swishalicious Nick Swisher drove in a run with his RBI double. I think this new hitting approach is going to really improve the already-solid Nick Swisher. That tied up the game at 1-1.

The Yankees kept fighting back last night, playing catch-up until the very end. The Yankees had a mini-offensive explosion in the 5th inning. Cutie-Curtis Granderson led off the inning with a single. Jeter followed that with a single of his own, which sent Granderson to 3rd base. Then Nick Johnson was hit by a pitch right in his back. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. It may have been, because loading the bases there would create a force at every base. But there were none out, so I doubt it was intentional. With loaded bases, Mark Teixeira got an RBI groundout, bringing the score to 3-2. Trailing by 1, Alex Rodriguez came up in a clutch situation. I hoped his clutch-streak from last season would continue. A-Rod didn’t let me down: he delivered with an RBI double to tie the game at 3. Robinson Cano drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly. 4-3 Yanks!

In the 8th, again trailing, the Yankees rallied. With the bases loaded, Mr. Plate Discipline, Nick Johnson, had a great at-bat. He walked, and forced in a run which gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead. The Yanks added a final insurance run in the 9th, when Robbie Cano hit a no-doubt home run. My Grandma was so silly in the 9th. She was begging for another run because she “is always a little unsure when Mo comes in. He is iffy.” That comment really caught me off guard. My response?

“Grandma, don’t be silly. Mariano is the greatest closer EVER! What do you mean he is ‘iffy?'”

That made her quiet.

But Grandma got her insurance run, and made it through the 9th inning just fine.

ROBBIE!!!

Defensive Analysis: There was a lot of stellar defense last night, along with some not-so-stellar defense. Derek Jeter experienced both. He made 2 breathtakingly beautiful plays: the first was in the 5th, where he made a fabulous jumping leaping play on an Ellsbury liner. He then stole my breath when in the 6th, he made a lovely stretching-reaching play to his right on an Adrian Beltre hot-shot. His error was just a little throwing error in the same inning. Luckily, it didn’t amount to anything for Boston.

Jorge Posada and Damaso Marte once again had defensive issues last night. In the 1st, Jacoby Ellsury got a cheap blooper that fell in front of Marcus Thames, (Gardner would have gotten it, but whatever) and then tried to steal 2nd. Jorge Posada flung the ball wildly into centerfield, letting Jacoby go to 3rd. Marte made a wild pickoff throw in the 8th. Actually, it wasn’t wild at all. It was lobbed to Tex as if a little girl threw it. Mark was not expecting that kind of throw, and missed it.

Pitching Analysis: A.J. Burnett started for the Yankees last night, and boy did he look good. He pitched okay, but he looked sooo goooood…..those tattoos…I don’t know what it is but I just fall for him. He was pumped up last night, which may have been why he struggled. A.J. went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, and struckout 5. He looked so good that I wasn’t even mad at him when he was stinky.

The run he allowed in the first was unearned, thanks to Jorge’s little blunder. Speaking of Jorge, I think he and A.J. cooperated pretty well last night, considering everything they went through. The big oopsy of his outing was the 2-run homer V-Mart hit off him in the 3rd inning. Martinez got to Burnett again in the 5th, when he knocked in a run with a double.

It’s cute when they aren’t arguing.

The bullpen was much better last night, thank God! Alfredo Aceves was really spectacular, continuing right from where he was last season. I guess his back really is feeling better. His 2 innings of perfect pitching amounted to him picking up his first “W” of the season.

The real star of last night was Joba Chamberlain. Oh, Joba…what a surprise! You can be dominant in relief! We never knew….jk! Joba entered the game in relief of Marte in the 8th, and inherited a very sticky situation: a man on 2nd, 1 out, and a slim 1-run lead. I prayed he would be the Joba I knew and loved way back when.

It made me almost tear up. Joba was spectacular. He struckout Beltre, then struckout Drew. Then, to my hopes and surprise, Joba fist-pumped. He hasn’t done that in so long! It was beautiful to see him having fun with it again, while also being dominant at the same time.

So beautiful….(sniffle)…HE’S BAAACK!!!

It was a fun night to be a Yankee fan. The game was very topsy-turvy, with the lead switching several times. But this time, it was my boys who came out on top. The heroes for the victory are Nick Johnson (cute!!!) for his patience at the plate, Robbie Cano for his production and that homer, and….JOBA, for his pure enthusiasm which led to success. Great job, boys. You’ve evened the series.

Tonight is the rubber game of this 3-game set. It would be very nice if my boys could win it, get a little lead over the Smelly Sox who cheat at Fenway, Oops…I insulted them again.

This is not sarcasm people. I really am still happy. Of course winning is more fun, but just the fact that I watched the Yankees last night has left me feeling giddy all day long. For the first time since November 4th, when I was sick with swine flu watching my Yanks win the World Series, I watched a Yankee game, took notes in my little book, and was at complete peace. And the first half of the game, that was insanely awesome! I think I may have jinxed the Yankees…about halfway through the game when we were winning like 5-1, I already had a title in mind for this post, expecting they would win. Now I can’t use it because they lost…but whatever.

Maybe it wasn’t because of me. I mean, I could have said it was because about halfway through the game, the Red Sox realized their new team that’s “all about defense” and no offense wasn’t going to cut it, so they decided to cheat at Fenway like they almost always do. But lucky for all you BoSox fans out there, I didn’t say that. Oh wait…I did. I’m sorry😛 I’m going to try and not throw insults around yet…it’s still too early for all that jazz.

So the Red Sox beat my Yankees last night by the score of 9-7. My Yankees did a lot right, but somewhere it all fell apart. It happens…

Offensive Analysis: Well, one thing is for certain – the Yankee bats were not a concern last night. In the 2nd inning, Jorge Posada went deep off the Pesky Poll to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead, which was fun. But it got more fun! Curtis Granderson, whom I have yet to give a cute nickname, hit a solo homer to right-center field, going back-to-back with Jorge! 2-0! I was very impressed with Grandy last night.

Cute! I love this guy ♥

In the 4th, the Yankee bats sounded again. Robinson Cano, now batting 5th in the lineup,(brilliant decision, Girardi! I know it’s early, but this move may be as influential as flip-flopping Jeet and Damon was last season!) crushed a leadoff double off the Monster. He came around to score on an RBI single by Brettiboo Gardner, bringing the score to 3-1. An RBI single by Jeter made it 4-1.

But here is the coolest part: With Nick Johnson (also lacking a nickname) up, Gardy on 3rd and Jeet on 1st, awesomeness happened! Jeter broke for 2nd base, and Victor Martinez stupidly threw the ball over there. Speedy little Brett Gardner then stole home! 5-1 Yanks! HAHAA!!! So Jacoby, you shouldn’t feel too special or unique from when you did that off Andy Pettitte. You are not the only one with wheels. That double steal was the highlight of my night🙂

Oh, Brettiboo….♥

The Yankees scored again twice in the 7th on an RBI groundout by Cano and an RBI single by Jorge to retake the lead they lost, bringing the score to 7-5. I was very pleased with the offense last night. The bats were not the reason why we lost.

Defensive Analysis: Defense was….partly why we lost. At the beginning of the game, my Yankees were flashing their leather left and right. Curtis Granderson made a lovely leaping catch at the wall in centerfield in the 2nd inning. In the 3rd, A-Rod made a heads-up play. After a leadoff walk by Mike Cameron, Marco Scutaro hit a bullet line-drive to Alex, who caught it on the fly. With that sexy cannon arm, A-Rod fired to Tex, and doubled-up Cameron at first for the 5-3 double play. Texy-wexy also made a gorgeous play of his own in the 4th on a Dustin Pedroia sharp grounder.

Granderson can fly!

The icky defense came in the 7th inning. After the lead was blown, Marte entered the game, and flung a wild pitch on the first one he threw. Later in the same inning, he threw a pitch that wasn’t exactly on-target, but it was still in the strike zone. For some odd reason, Jorge missed the ball! And it rolled away…and Pukilis I mean Youkilis (Virginia…you said you would refrain from insults…try and be civil…there are still at least 161 games left!) came in to score the go-ahead run.

Pitching Analysis: CC Sabathia, my adorable-hefty-lefty-ace-cute-“chubby”-pitcher took the hill last night. His first pitch was a strike – a nice fastball on the outer half to Ellsbury. He was pretty good through the first 5 innings, just allowing 2 runs, but it unraveled after that for my big boy. He got into a mess in the 6th, gave up a few runs, and left the game with the tying run on 3rd. David Robertson relieved him, and let the run come in on an RBI single by Beltre.

The 7th inning made me want to pull my hair out. Chan Ho Park made his Yankee debut, and I’m sorry but he epically failed. At that time, the Yankees had recaptured the lead, and the score was 7-5. Quickly, this was all erased. Scutaro singled, and then Park dished up the go-ahead 2-run homer to Pedroia. Chan Ho-couldn’t-keep-it-in-the-Park was starting to piss me off.

-Excuse me, Virginia. If you are not going insulting the Red Sox tonight, what gives you the right to insult a Yankee…a nervous Yankee, on his debut? Very heartless of you.-

I’m sorry, conscience.

Then Park gave up a double to Puke-I mean-Youkilis. Then he left, and Marte came in, only to do his wild-pitch thing. THEN it was Joba’s turn. He got out of the 7th, but gave up a run in the 8th. By that time, it was too late for my babies on the offense side to come back.

CC wasn’t great last night, but the bullpen was a complete fail. Sorry guys!

So we lost…okay. It’s happened before, it’s not the end of the world. After all, the Yankees lost the first game last season and went ALL THE WAY! Remember: they are the Drama Club. They like to make things interesting. I like a little drama in my life…it can be exciting. The Yankees have a knack for creating drama in my life.

They also have a knack for sending me into cardiac arrest.

Guys, I like it drama, but I also like breathing. Just remember that🙂

Yankees, you are all so sexy and watching you last night made me happy all over. I love you, boys. I hope you have enjoyed your off-day.

Today has been so much fun, and now it all gets better from here. With Spring Training officially over, the regular season is about to start. I had the greatest pleasure of watching the Yankees play an exhibition game against the Future Stars. It was great – no matter who won, the Yankees would win! As it turned out, it was the Big Boys who came out on top. I got a little confused at the end of the game, because the Yankees put in all their rookies. So it was the Future Stars versus the rookies! For all of you who know me, you know I just LOVE rookies. Today was especially fun for me.

It was a good day all around. I don’t think anyone cared about the final score: Yankees 9, Future Stars 6. In fact, the rules hardly applied to this game. Marcus Thames was randomly thrown into the lineup without replacing anyone. His home run in the 5th was a monster shot.

I had the pleasure of watching Jesus Montero again today, who I don’t hate anymore. How could I? I only hated him because I thought he was a threat to Cervelli’s job. But Cervelli is safe for now, so I can now freely love Montero. He is cute…always, ALWAYS smiling! He reminds me a little of Melky Cabrera with his smile. And he’s good too, getting 2 hits today: a powerful double and a line-drive single. If I wasn’t falling for him before, I am now…he’s so muscular…and young…ooh-la-laa😉

Nice muscles ;)….

There’s the smile :)….

Ooh and he’s a goofball too? Aw…

Mmmm…..

Okay. Before when I said, “If I wasn’t falling for him before, I am now…” well, that’s somewhat of a lie now.I HAVE FALLEN FOR HIM. I thought you should just know this…

Remember how I was all depressed that Melky was gone? Well today, I was pleasantly surprised. As they showed the lineup for the Future Stars, a name caught my eye: Melky Mesa. Then the “Oh my God”s rampantly flew from my mouth. I could not wait to get a glimpse of him. When I saw him at-bat, I realized he didn’t look anything like the Melky I love. But I guess that’s okay. He is a different person…a different Melky…but I hope I can still love him the same. Like I said before, he looks different than Cabrera, but I can’t say that I’m disappointed at all. He’s still a cutie.

Here he is, the new Melky: Melky Mesa

Melky Mesa…mmm…skin a little darker than Cabrera’s, body a little thinner…but same youthful demeanour. I’m pulling for this kid all the way. ♥♥♥

I can’t get over how much fun today was for me. Aside from assessing the rookies’ looks, I assessed their skills! One player I think will be very very good is reliever Jonathan Ortiz. He has a very unorthodox delivery that creates deception. From the little I saw of him, I think he’s going to be special. Mark my words. I’ve “scouted” other players in the past too…like Ramiro Pena.

Ortiz will be good! I know it!

Spring Training, and especially today, was a blast. But now the real thing is here! The war is about to begin….and luckily, my Yankee warriors are back to good health. Cervelli will be okay, as well as Nick Johnson, Damaso Marte, and Alfredo Aceves. This is good…now, the Yankees will be able to deploy their finest, strongest, best warriors on the battlefield of Fenway tomorrow.

I’ll be there in spirit boys, just like I always am🙂

The 2010 season…I just can’t believe it is really here!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!! The quest for #28 starts tomorrow!

-Sigh-…..So, uhh….I guess everyone heard the news….-painful sigh-….Matt Holliday agreed….to a 7 year $120 million deal with the Cardinals…..so he left me….So much for he wanted to be a Yankee….disgusting….I’m really annoyed….I mean, I pretty much knew the Yankees weren’t interested, but I couldn’t make myself believe it….I’m only writing about this because it really upset me….and..well…because it gives me an excuse to put up a picture of this handome, strong, irresistable man…

-Sigh- Oh, Matt…I guess we were never meant to be….

I can’t help but to be mad at Matt. I mean is this really what he wanted? He wanted the most money? More than Pujols? It’s ridiculous. This song really explains how I feel: angry, disgusted, and betrayed.

Okay…I got that out of the way. Now what other options are there for the Yanks for left field? I love Johnny Damon and adore him, but I think he blew it. He wanted waytoo much. Unless he is willing to hurt his pride and settle for less, Johnny won’t be back next year. So, my new pick for who I want for left field is Xavier Nady.

I always liked Xavier Nady. I have his rookie card, and I always thought he was a cutie When he came to the Yankees along with Marte in ’08, I was glad. Nady did well for the Yanks in 2008, hitting .268 with 12 HR and 40 RBI in 59 games. I thought that he would be even better in 2009 because he would have adjusted to the pitchers. But sadly, Nady’s 2009 season was cut short: way too short.

That’s my card! Only mined isn’t signed.

Nady only played 7 games in 2009. I remember when he got hurt. He fielded a ball in right, and fired a rocket throw back into the infield. And that was it. His elbow “popped,” and he had to exit the game. He tried rehabing it, but with no luck. Tragically, Nady had to have his 2nd Tommy John Surgery, and miss the rest of the season. Sometimes I saw him in the dugout with the rest of the boys, wearing jeans and a Yankee sweatshirt. It upset me to see him like that. You could tell that was not where he wanted to be.

One thing I love about Xavier is that, well, he’s adorable. Unlike most baseball players, Nady has quite a nice head of hair. I just want to run my fingers through it…it’s so nice and thick and smooth!

Gorgeous.

Another thing that is really cute about Xavier is that to me, he always looks like he is in deep, deep thought. I can’t really explain, he just looks like he is thinking about the most complex things. Take a look at his expressions on some of these:

Deep, deep thoughts.

What’s on your mind?

Why so serious?

I think I know what he’s thinking in this one. He might be thinking: “I’m hurt.” Poor baby…

I hope the Yankees give Xavier Nady another shot, because he never really had a fair one this first time. Xavier, I love you. I hope your arm feels better, and that you are enjoying your offseason. AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR!

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